http://www.mysoftballcoach.com/fastpitch-softball-blog.html The mysoftballcoach Fastpitch Softball Blog keeps you up-to-date with all additions and changes to the Mysoftballcoach.com Web site. Subscribe here. en-us fastpitch softball Wed, 10 Mar 2010 03:04:01 GMT Wed, 10 Mar 2010 03:04:01 GMT mysoftballcoach.com http://www.mysoftballcoach.com/machine-pitch-tournaments.html Softball League Sponsored Machine Pitch Tournaments Provide the ULTIMATE in Fun for Youth Fastpitch Softball Players. Wed, 10 Mar 2010 03:04:01 GMT http://www.mysoftballcoach.com/magnetic-lineup-board.html A Magnetic Lineup Board is an essential coaching tool to give your fastpitch softball team their best chance to succeed on game day. Wed, 03 Mar 2010 02:44:58 GMT http://www.mysoftballcoach.com/fastpitch-softball-blog.html#Signals-For-8U I had a question about hitting signals for 8U teams. Here is my reply: Believe it or not, 7 & 8 year olds understand signals. For this age group I really like to use the Nose as an indicator. Which means that the very next thing you do after you touch your nose is the signal. I like to use the nose and explain it to the girls that "you knows the signal is coming". I know, really poor english, but they get it. For the bunt signal I like to use the hand on the chest. Explain that when they bunt they have to turn their chest towards the pitcher. For the hit signal, I usually make two fists, one on top of the other, and hit them together (almost like you are gripping a bat). Don't get too elaborate with your signals. 8 year olds confuse easily. For example, don't give the bunt signal without giving the indicator and expect the girl not to bunt. If she sees you touch your chest, she will bunt regardless of you touching your nose or not. Also, don't run through 16 different body parts looking like you've got fleas. Keep it simple, and go through maybe 3 to 5 motions. One more signal to know. If the player doesn't understand the signal then she should put one hand on top of her helmet. This lets you know to run back through the signals. Good Luck! Coach Mon, 01 Mar 2010 02:34:21 GMT http://www.mysoftballcoach.com/game-face.html A Game Face could have prevented this, "...particularly amog female pitchers who are hit by a batted ball." Wed, 24 Feb 2010 02:29:19 GMT http://www.mysoftballcoach.com/softball-training.html Some practical softball training drills for every team to enhance coordination, speed, and agility. Thu, 18 Feb 2010 02:48:07 GMT http://www.mysoftballcoach.com/fastpitch-softball-blog.html#Stepping-in-the-Bucket---The-Question Coach Dawn writes: I am a coach of a 10U rec and travel team. The majority of the team is 9 years old. I have been lucky enough to have 2 really good fast pitchers, and such we have always kept the team playing up higher than their age dictates. In our rec league we are in a 5th/6th grade division even though the girls are mostly 4th graders. I took the team into ASA this past fall for their first time playing 10U as mostly young 9 year olds. We did fairly well considering. We have a very strong defense. I looked over your defensive strategies and I completely agree. I utilize almost the exact same strategy as your 12U defense. We have what I would consider an average offensive game tho. I have 2 very small (under 4' tall) and quick girls that are my lead off hitters. No pitchers can get a strike into their very small strike zone. So they both always walk and are on 3rd and 2nd by the time my 2 good hitters come up and the 3 and 4 spot. But after those 4 batters we are hurting. The rest of the girls have the very bad habit of stepping backwards with the left foot when the pitch comes. I believe its due to their intimidation and lack of confidence in their hitting. When I pitch to them and they know they will not get hit they do not step out and are all capable of hitting. They are not at all intimidated playing defense with hits coming at them full speed but they continue to be intimidated at the plate. I have done drill after drill, tried idea after idea to rid them of this dreadful bad habit to no avail. I would love any and all of the ideas or drills you might have on this subject. -- Dawn Wed, 10 Feb 2010 03:27:13 GMT http://www.mysoftballcoach.com/fastpitch-softball-blog.html#Stepping-in-the-Bucket---The-Answer Coach Dawn- First, I'm proud of you for stepping up to play tournament ball. This problem is not at all uncommon for teams making the jump from league play to tournament play. There are two challenges to overcome. Confidence and now a bad habit. Any time you get a player stepping out, eliminate the step. Spread the stance out further and further until they eliminate the step or stop stepping out. We teach all of our players to NOT step. We still use the front heel as the trigger. When the pitcher releases the ball the batters heel goes up and back down, then the batter just rotates with her hips. Now for confidence, I suggest having them bunt every other at bat (especially in pool games). This will get them used to standing in the box, watching the pitch, and realizing the pitch isn't going to hit them. Also, there should be only minimal footwork when bunting so this should help break the habit. Let them hit the next at bat and watch their feet. Once they have broken the habit of stepping out you can just let them hit going forward. Good Luck! Coach Wed, 10 Feb 2010 03:22:06 GMT http://www.mysoftballcoach.com/pitching.html How a Fastpitch League can be Proactive in Developing Pitching Skills Wed, 03 Feb 2010 02:15:11 GMT http://www.mysoftballcoach.com/youth-softball-league.html Need Ideas to Improve Your Youth Softball League? Has your fastpitch softball enrollment fallen behind? Sat, 30 Jan 2010 02:15:01 GMT http://www.mysoftballcoach.com/softball-player-contract.html A sample Fastpitch Softball Player Contract to use as a guideline for your Fastpitch Softball Tournament Team. Tue, 26 Jan 2010 02:31:35 GMT http://www.mysoftballcoach.com/fastpitch-softball-blog.html#My-1ST-Player-With-a-College-Scholarship A GIANT CONGRATULATIONS to Haley N. She is the first player to have played for me to receive a college scholarship to play softball. Haley is the only Senior on our team (the rest are younger), so she is also our first player eligible to receive a scholarship. Nobody loves playing softball more than Haley. This has been a lifelong dream to play at the college level. She's a great kid from a great family. I couldn't be any prouder for her. Way to go Haley! You earned it and you deserve it. Coach Fri, 22 Jan 2010 03:08:09 GMT http://www.mysoftballcoach.com/softball-team-meeting.html The Pre-Season Kickoff Softball Team Meeting is the opportunity for the Softball team manager to set the goals, expectations and tone for the season to come. Thu, 21 Jan 2010 01:31:12 GMT http://www.mysoftballcoach.com/bats.html This Fastpitch Softball Bats review takes a look at the cost, the result, and the necessity of supplying your team with softball equipment that WINS games. Wed, 06 Jan 2010 01:35:56 GMT http://www.mysoftballcoach.com/fastpitch-softball-blog.html#Softball-Sliding-Mat Just a quick note. Today I ran across the Schutt Slide Rite sliding mat for only $269. That is significantly cheaper than I have seen it priced in over a year. I have place a link for it on the bottom of this page: http://www.mysoftballcoach.com/softball-sliding-mat.html. I think you have to copy and paste the link into your browser. I'm a big fan of the sliding mat. I know it's expensive. You will never have a better sliding practice than with this mat. AND, since you have gone to a drills based practice, you can throw the mat anywhere and make it one of the stations the players rotate to EVERY practice. Go Get 'Em! Coach Wed, 30 Dec 2009 04:19:08 GMT http://www.mysoftballcoach.com/fastpitch-softball-blog.html#Still-Christmas-Shopping?-Need-the-Killer-Idea? This is completely off topic as far as softball goes, however it is relevant to the season. I was talking with a friend who was so excited that he had bought his wife a Kindle for Christmas. Evidently she is a big reader. He was so excited and sure this was the newest, coolest gadget on the market. So, I put a link to it on my shopping page at the very bottom of the page. Just copy and paste this link into your browser: http://www.mysoftballcoach.com/shopping.html Happy Holidays! Coach Wed, 16 Dec 2009 02:04:49 GMT http://www.mysoftballcoach.com/fastpitch-softball-blog.html#Miken-Bat-Special Just a quick note, I was shopping for a new bat for my daughter and found the Miken Icon bat for $145. This is last years model, but it is a GREAT price. I believe it is only available in size 33 or 34 length. Which means it's probably only for a girl 13 or older. I put the link for it at the very bottom of this page: http://www.mysoftballcoach.com/shopping.html (I think you will have to copy and paste the address into your browser. Good Luck! Coach Fri, 11 Dec 2009 00:58:23 GMT http://www.mysoftballcoach.com/coach-lisa.html Coach Lisa of the Blaze gives her outlook for 8U Fall Ball. Wed, 23 Sep 2009 23:02:50 GMT http://www.mysoftballcoach.com/jugs-pitching-machine.html Jugs pitching machine review and Jugs Jr. Batting practice, Outfield practice, are your ready to go to the next level? Thu, 20 Aug 2009 00:23:47 GMT http://www.mysoftballcoach.com/fastpitch-softball-blog.html#First-Two-18U-Tournaments---Results We took the plunge these past two weekends and decided to play 18U Open tournaments. Mind you we are a team of 15 year olds and a couple of 14s. I was a little tentative but the girls were chomping at the bit to see how they measured up. The results are in. Last weekend we came in 4th place out of 20 teams. Our two losses were 4-7 and 2-5. But along the way were 5 wins. This weekend the girls played with much more confidence and were more accustomed to the 43' pitching distance. The result, 3rd place. The two losses were each by one run, 3-4 and 1-2. Along with those two losses came 4 wins, 3-1, 2-0, 7-6, and 5-2. I couldn't be prouder of the team. Lots of heart, hustle and desire. Looks like we are in 18U to stay. Coach Mon, 17 Aug 2009 01:05:59 GMT http://www.mysoftballcoach.com/fastpitch-softball-blog.html#Watch-Out-for-Caoch-Jason-and-the-Thunder.-Pg-1 Hey Coach, I still refer to your site quite often. Thanks for the great info and coaching the coaches. Every rec and summer/fall team I pick up a few new asst. coaches and I ALWAYS send them the link to your site for reference. I thought Id send another Picture of Irish; 3 years after the last one I sent you! In this picture she DID actually get the perfect game; in fact she was 5-0 on the weekend with 3 no-hitters to take the Championship home. Also sent a pic of the Roseville thunder 12u Blue team that benefitted from your coaching leadership/suggestions. 27-8 for the summer, pretty good for a first year 12U team! On Base of .525 with 184 steals in 96 innings! Just wait til next year huh! This summer I had a 1st year 12U ASA B team and was really having trouble with 2 things. First was the Statue of Liberty outfielders running across the field in pursuit of a fly ball with their glove hand fully up in the air and the other was getting the girls to pick me up in the 3rd base coaching box on their way to 2nd, not once they got there. Here is how we remedied both(Read the following Blog for the Remedy) Tue, 11 Aug 2009 03:13:33 GMT http://www.mysoftballcoach.com/fastpitch-softball-blog.html#Watch-Out-for-Caoch-Jason-and-the-Thunder.-Pg-2 Here is how we remedied both I put the girls in a line at 2nd base with their gloves on and told them to steal 3rd (no slide just run through) with stopwatch in hand. Then after I gave them all two times to get their best time I told them to do the same thing but with their glove straight up in the airany guesses Coach? Yup, .3 to .5 second slower across the board and that was in 60 feet. I then moved them out to the OF and had them do the same from CF to RF to further show how bad this was slowing them down. It was a very effective demonstration, way more than me just telling them and them thinking whatever! For the pick me up at 3rd stuff I had them do a similar drill but starting at 1B and not looking at me until right at the bag. Stopwatch in hand when they picked me up about halfway to 2nd they dropped at least a second off their times. I had my asst coach stand on 3b with ball in glove and marked off the 17 feet or so that 1 second resulted in and showed them the actual distance they can be safe (or out) by, by just looking at me 1 second sooner! They all got the point rather quickly! My base running strategy was this, and I preached it all day every day!!!...Run until a base coach stops you and unless you hear UPUPslide. Fairly simple right! The hardest part was letting them know that if I messed up and didnt stop them and they ran into an out, then that was my fault. It happened once and I made it a POINT to apologize to the team and that runner all together at the same time. Once they knew I would fall on my sword and own MY mistake, they were all about it!!! Thanks again Coach! Tue, 11 Aug 2009 03:12:33 GMT http://www.mysoftballcoach.com/fastpitch-softball-blog.html#Viewer-Mail---Coach-Jeanna Hi Coach, I think those suggestions will work perfectly tonight. Tonight is our last season game. Now on to the good stuff: We finished 2nd place in a tournament hosted by the coach of the team that got 1st place. He coaches his rec league team, and several of the girls from his rec team are on his travel team as well. So we were facing players who have seen 2-3 times more games than my girls have. The final score was 8-6, and we never had a chance for a good "lead runner" out, anyway, so we didn't lose because we didn't get the lead runner. Some highlights from this game: 10 of the 12 girls on the team hit the ball into fair territory!!! That's because we've had so much hitting practice! My girls were awesome on the field, and they went for the outs at FIRST BASE! What made me give a little tiny smile was when the other team's 3rd baseman went for the NON-EXISTENT force out at 3rd, when she should have gone to FIRST BASE! In the first inning, the girl I put in as first batter (who has great speed and I know this because of the power of the stopwatch) walked. Second batter, my own kid, laid down a bunt, got to second base and the runner on first base scored! Oh, it was beautiful. In the game before the championship game, the team's speedy pitcher got injured so we could actually compete in that game. What I loved about that game was how the other team kept going for the lead runner. Their coach has trained them this way and it just makes me smile, like when the 3rd baseman tried to get the force out at second, while the second baseman was trying to beat my runner to 2nd to take the throw. You are awesome!! Feel free to post anything from this e-mail. The last time you did, I saw it and boy did I feel famous! Thanks again, Coach Jeanna _________________________________________________ Coach Jeanna- Thanks for the props. I LOVE hearing the success stories. Coach Wed, 15 Jul 2009 01:27:28 GMT http://www.mysoftballcoach.com/michael-jackson.html If you grew up in the 70's and 80's you recognize Michael Jackson was the King of Pop. Fri, 26 Jun 2009 04:17:11 GMT http://www.mysoftballcoach.com/fastpitch-softball-blog.html#8U-Batting-Order-Question Coach, I have been using your batting order the last 8 games and after staring 1-5 we finished up 8-0. My issues, which is a good one, is I have (3) POWER hitters. They either hit a double or a base clearing triple almost every time they are up to bat. I put my most consistent "light" hitters at 1-2. I have 5 girls that either go 3-3 or 1-3 depending on their mood. Then (2) girls that get hits but it is rare...these are girls that the whole crowd goes nuts if they even nick the ball. I have (2) of the Power hitter back to back right now which is OK but was wondering if you had any ideas on a better way to maximize my runs with the girls I have currently. The power hitters back to back are at 7-8 were there are usually always girls on base. If one of them does not clear the bases...the other usually does the job. Any assistance would be GREATLY appreciated! ________________________________________________ Coach Jeremy- Sounds like you have had a pretty good season so far, especially after the rough start. Your batting order can change from week to week depending on who gets hot and who gets cold. At 8-0 I would be hesitant to make many changes. "If it ain't broke don't fix it". However, I think you now have the main theory behind the 8U batting order. Don't bunch up all of your good hitters, mix in a little weakness to help get you further through the line up, but don't spread your hitters so much that you leave the bases loaded but never score. You might consider swapping #5 and #8 in the order to help ensure you get a run or two at the top of your order, or you might consider moving moving #9 in between your current 7 and 8 to get further through the line up. I have confidence in you. It looks like you've already learned a lot this season. You are now looking at your line up more strategically for the length of the game and not just your best hitters at the top. Hey, I know what you mean about the two girls that are lucky to get a foul tip. But isn't it fun to watch and hope, and then celebrate their success (however small it is). Good Luck! Coach ___________________________________________________ Coach, We won the league championship over the weekend. Although batting did not really matter because we only allowed 4 runs in 5 games, thanks for your assistance. Your website is a great tool for coaches. Thank you again! Coach Jeremy Wed, 24 Jun 2009 11:18:29 GMT http://www.mysoftballcoach.com/fastpitch-softball-blog.html#ITB-Continued---Home-Team Building on the previous blog, what is the strategy if you are the Home Team? I'm glad you asked. The answer is that it depends on what happened when the Visiting team was on offense. If the Visiting team scored 0 or 1 run, then your strategy will be to bunt with your first batter to move your runner to 3rd base. This gives you the greatest chance of scoring the one run needed to win or tie. Play for the tie first then worry about getting the win. If the Visiting team scored 2 or more runs then you will need to play your offense straight up. Whether that is hitting, slapping, or bunting. Great teams win games in Extra innings. You will have the advantage. You know your players abilities, you play sensible defense, you have taught ALL of your players how to bunt and you keep a positive attitude with your players. They WILL have confidence in your coaching, they are well-coached, and as such they will have confidence in their ability. Good Luck! Coach Fri, 05 Jun 2009 02:06:38 GMT http://www.mysoftballcoach.com/fastpitch-softball-blog.html#International-Tie-Breaker-(ITB)---Strategy A common way Softball games are decided if the game is tied at the end of regulation is the International Tie Breaker aka ITB. In ITB your player that made the last out is placed at 2nd base and the inning is played out normally. So the Question is, what should be your strategy if you are the visiting team? The answer is you must bunt her to 3rd base with your first hitter.. Get the runner to third with one out and take your chances from there. Once your runner is on 3rd she can score in so many different ways. A hit, a sacrifice fly, an illegal pitch, a passed ball, a wild pitch, an error, a squeeze play, a delayed steal. As the visiting team you MUST put the run on the board and force the home team to execute. If you fail to score guess what the Home team is going to do? That's right, bunt their runner to third. Now you're just one wild pitch from losing. The question comes up, "But what if it's my best hitter at bat?" The answer, BUNT. How to perfect your bunting game: http://www.mysoftballcoach.com/bunting.html Good Luck! Coach Tue, 02 Jun 2009 01:05:33 GMT http://www.mysoftballcoach.com/fastpitch-softball-blog.html#Viewer-Mail---960-Swings! Here is an excerpt from an email I received just the other day. Soooo, this year, I signed up to be an assistant coach in a different league. The head coach quit after the first practice because she was going to have to miss half the games, so now I am head coach again. At least I get my way now, and we get to have drills and stations! And, the girls get excited when I tell them stuff like "Everybody just got 80 swings today; that's 960 swings for the team!" and the parents are very happy so far. Our first game is this coming Thursday. I haven't seen this league operate, but from what I ask the parents, they think we have a good group this year. No one has a pitching coach but my daughter and no, I can't count on her to pitch a whole game yet. I just have to figure out who can get it across the plate the most. We had a little competition yesterday to see who was fastest to 1st base. I used my stopwatch. It was great, and now I know who to put at 1 and 2 in the lineup. Thank you for your website! Coach J How can you get 960 swings in during batting practice like Coach J? http://www.mysoftballcoach.com/hitting.html Go Get 'Em! Coach Thu, 28 May 2009 02:26:34 GMT http://www.mysoftballcoach.com/fastpitch-softball-blog.html#Didn't-Make-Through-The-Batting-Order I am still reflecting on the 8U game I watched the other night. UN-FREAKING-BELIEVABLE!!! In the last blog I told you how his Defensive players didn't know what to do with the ball. AN INEXCUSABLE COACHING BLUNDER. So maybe they've spent all of their practice time on Hitting. Uhhhh, Evidently NOT. They didn't even make it through their lineup one complete time. The game was extended so the final few batters could bat. Then two of them STRUCK OUT. What are they doing in practice??????? Can we REVOKE his coaching license? PLEASE TELL ME ya'll are crushing teams like this. Your players should be swinging the bat at least 80-100 times EVERY PRACTICE. 90 of your players should be able to routinely HIT THE BALL. Are you having a productive batting practice? Do you still have several girls struggling to make contact? Read this: http://www.mysoftballcoach.com/hitting.html Listen, it's okay to get beat. But it's NOT okay to SUCK! (Please pardon the vulgarity). If your Defense doesn't KNOW what to do with the ball, it is a COACHING issue. If your offense can't get through the lineup, it's a COACHING issue. Now that I have that off my chest, Ya'll have a GREAT 3-Day Weekend! GO GET 'EM COACH!! Coach Sat, 23 May 2009 14:18:29 GMT http://www.mysoftballcoach.com/fastpitch-softball-blog.html#8U-Defense---Keep-It-Simple I stopped by the local league fields last night to watch one of my players make her umpiring debut and as it turned out she was umpiring an 8U game. One of the teams playing was just awful. And I GUARANTEE that 90 of the awfulness came from the coaching. Here is the situation: A runner on 1st and the ball is hit pretty sharply to 3rd. The coach starts yelling at his 3rd baseman to throw to 2nd. ARE YOU KIDDING ME? Do you even think any player moved to 2nd base to take a throw? NO. Did 3rd throw the ball to 2nd? NO. Could the player playing 2B have even caught the throw? I doubt it. She threw it back to the pitcher indicating that she really didn't have a clue what to do. WHY? Listen up, 7 & 8 year olds need to either catch the ball and step on the closest base, or throw the ball to 1st base every play. EVERY PLAY! Here is the link to my 8U defensive strategy: http://www.mysoftballcoach.com/coaching-youth-softball.html IT WORKS. We went 93-4-2 as an 8U team. Don't try to re-invent the wheel. Just enjoy the ride. Good Luck! Coach Thu, 21 May 2009 00:58:42 GMT http://www.mysoftballcoach.com/emask.html A Review of the Emask Face Guard for Fastpitch Softball Batting Helmets. Thu, 14 May 2009 03:07:08 GMT http://www.mysoftballcoach.com/stopwatch.html Information is POWER and with a stopwatch as part of your softball equipment, you will be well on your way to building a winning fastpitch softball team. Tue, 12 May 2009 01:01:34 GMT http://www.mysoftballcoach.com/fastpitch-softball-blog.html#On-A-Personal-Note---Changing-Your-Life Earlier this year (See Blog from Jan 05) I set a goal of getting 114 people to start their very own websites. I wanted to give you an update as to how the mysoftballcoach site is doing. In March there were over 20,000 visitors to the site which generated over $1,000 in revenue. Again in April there were over 20,000 visitors which generated $815 in revenue. But HOW does it generate revenue when I don't sell anything? Ahhh, the miracle of the internet. Advertising. For me, the site is a place where I can mentor new softball coaches. To Retailers, my site is prime real estate to advertise their goods and services. I WOULD HAVE NEVER BELIEVED THIS WHEN I STARTED. Don't know what to create a website about? How about your hobby, your collections, your favorite vacation spot, your own home town, any HOW To make a whatever. The possibilities are endless. This site is just now 2 years old. How much revenue will it generate 5 years from now? A LOT. But more than the money, I can't begin to express the satisfaction I get from helping other coaches and hopefully having a positive impact on the great sport of softball. Can you begin to imagine what an awesome and humbling feeling it is knowing that 700 people each day read something I have written. Authoring this site has changed my life. Yes, my bank account is a little fatter, but more importantly I'm having a positive impact on parents and children's lives. I want YOU to have that same AWESOME feeling. It will Change Your Life. For more info go to: http://www.mysoftballcoach.com/sbi-software.html Go Get 'Em!!! Coach Wed, 06 May 2009 02:18:57 GMT http://www.mysoftballcoach.com/fastpitch-softball-blog.html#From-the-Mailbag---Trouble-with-Batting-Power Coach, I coach a first year 12u girls fastpitch travel team in Lubbock. Our girls are having trouble getting power in their hits. Can you recommend a drill or two to increase bat speed? Thanks, ********************************************** Coach C- I doubt you have a bat speed problem. I've just never seen a girl swing and thought "man is that slow". I suspect you have a weight shift problem. The MOST COMMON problem I see is with hitters shifting their weight on top of their front foot. This absolutely eliminates ALL power. Rather than try to explain it all, I'm going to give you two links to youtube videos that are excellent and also tell you that I highly recommend Mike Candrea's hitting video. You can find a link to Candrea's hitting video here: http://www.mysoftballcoach.com/fastpitch-hitting-fundamentals.html The two videos on youtube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L2pa6Z-pzLk&feature=related http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kdU98a3P-UQ&NR=1 What I want you to pay particular attention to is that the torso stays centered between the hitters feet. The weight is driven into the front leg, but the weight does NOT shift on TOP of the front foot. Watch your hitters carefully. If you see their upper body moving forward then you have a problem. The upper body should only twist. Good Luck! Coach Mon, 04 May 2009 01:35:47 GMT http://www.mysoftballcoach.com/coach-rich.html Coach Rich and the Dunham Rebels Prepare for his first year as a head coach. Fri, 01 May 2009 02:14:40 GMT http://www.mysoftballcoach.com/shortstop-positioning.html Situational Shortstop Positioning in Fastpitch Softball, where to be and when to get there. Mon, 27 Apr 2009 01:29:45 GMT http://www.mysoftballcoach.com/fastpitch-softball-blog.html#Viewer-Mail---8U-Batting-Order-Question Hi Coach, Love your site. Quick question. You talk about the hitting order for a 3 inning game. ALL of our 8U games last 4 innings.would this change your strategy for the line up at all? Coach Kerry Lake Travis, Texas 8U Softball Coach, 8U All Star Coach and Softball Board Member ***************************************************** Coach Kerry- Playing more than 3 innings would not change my strategy. The main idea is to maximize runs while pushing through some of the weaker hitters. If you spread your good hitters out more, then your run production goes down. If you bunch your good hitters together more, then you get longer dead spots in your line up. Of course the biggest aide to a batting order is to have more strong hitters. Amazing how much smarter you will look as a coach when you have 9 girls hitting consistently as opposed to only having 6 that can hit. Good Luck! Coach Tue, 21 Apr 2009 22:50:09 GMT http://www.mysoftballcoach.com/golf-swing.html The Softball Drill that is Guaranteed to Correct the Golf Swing or Determining she Enjoys watching the coach suffer. Wed, 15 Apr 2009 01:52:32 GMT http://www.mysoftballcoach.com/fastpitch-softball-blog.html#Viewer-Mail---Coach-Greg Coach, Thanks for all of the helpful information on your site. I am coaching a 10U team in SW Indiana. We will be playing a 12 game regular season plus a double elimination tournament. We've practiced 6 times to date and have 3 weeks before the official start of the season on May 4. I've been coaching for 5 years now but have played baseball my whole life. Your site has opened my eyes to some of the subtle differences between the fastpitch softball game and baseball. Several of your strategic ideas made sense to me and have me ready to make some fundamental changes in defensive assignments this year. I have observed all of the things you mention in the 10U strategy column but hadn't really thought about it the sense that I was ready to move players around. I have high expectations for our team this year. We have a great group of girls with a fine mix of talent, intelligence and experience. I am hoping for at least a 75 winning percentage. This year I have prepared for every practice by surfing sites like yours and in-deed coming up with a "drills and skills" based practice. I am very excited about the results so far. The one obstacle I have is trying to cover too much territory in one practice. I've found that it's better to stick with no more than 4 focus areas for each practice. I've also got two more daughters playing on an 8U team that I help coach. They are also set to have a strong season. They finished 2nd in their league last year only losing 2 games all year and should be right back in the finals this year. Thanks for all your help, and please know that there are a group of girls in Indiana that you have never met that you are positively having an influence on 3 times a week. Coach Greg ***Message to the other teams in Indiana - You better LOOK OUT for Coach Greg's team. He has adopted a drills based practice and he is thinking in a new light about his team. I think they are going to kick some serious booty this year! If you are not running a drills based practice, you WILL get your doors BLOWN OFF by teams like Coach Greg's. Good Luck! Coach Tue, 14 Apr 2009 02:25:37 GMT http://www.mysoftballcoach.com/8u-batting-order-strategy.html The Winning 8U Batting Order Strategy for Fastpitch Softball conservatively maximizes run production without creating downside risk. Sun, 22 Mar 2009 13:25:34 GMT http://www.mysoftballcoach.com/sbi-software.html Why I chose to use SBI software to build mysoftballcoach.com Mon, 16 Mar 2009 01:37:43 GMT http://www.mysoftballcoach.com/fastpitch-softball-blog.html#A-productive-Batting-Practice If your batting practice consists of having your pitcher pitch to batters and all the other fielders are retrieving the hits...STOP! Raise your right hand and repeat, "I will no longer subject my team to the most boring and unproductive batting practice on the face of the earth." Go on, say it. If you feel the need to have your hitters face "Live" pitching, then schedule a scrimmage game against an opponent. Otherwise, your batting practice should consist of at least THREE rapid fire stations where the girls can rotate through and get in lots of swings. Have one station behind the backstop that is a bunting station. This takes up very little room Have a second station where you throw soft toss and the batter hits in a net or into the back of the backstop if you don't have a net. Have the third station be on the field so they can see where their hits are going. This could be machine or coach pitch, or it could even be hitting off a tee or soft toss. While I certainly agree that facing live pitching is beneficial, if given a choice of letting a player see 10 pitches from a live pitcher or letting her bunt 15 times, hit 15 into a net, and then hit 15 off a tee, I would MUCH prefer for the hitters to get more swings and have to focus on the ball more times. Bunt 15 and swing 30 times, or 10 Live pitches? MORE is BETTER. Your batting practices will be much more productive and you will keep the girls engaged. Go Get 'em! Coach Sun, 15 Mar 2009 02:03:29 GMT http://www.mysoftballcoach.com/jugs-lite-flight.html The Jugs Lite Flight Pitching Machine is ideal for a space constrained setting but comes up short in most outdoor practice settings. Wed, 11 Mar 2009 23:41:00 GMT http://www.mysoftballcoach.com/softball-field.html Can't find a good softball field to practice on? Here is the solution and it perfect for practicing fastpitch drills. Sun, 01 Mar 2009 12:11:36 GMT http://www.mysoftballcoach.com/fastpitch-softball-blog.html#Coaches-Comments-On-the-Lead-Runner-Myth Below are excerpts of some emails I received regarding the discussion on Getting the Lead Runner or taking the sure out at First. Coach Michael: "I am 100 on board with your philosophy, as I mentioned, I have seen results with going for the out at 1st and the disaster that comes from going for the lead runner. On our fallball team (1st year 12U that was thrown together at the last minute, I was head coach) that was pretty weak, I even went so far as to tell the girls the ONLY out to make was at 1st, that was also how we practiced." Coach Scott: "It is maybe the most demoralizing realization as a coach. "I've lost the game and my team and I have nobody to blame but myself." momentum is a b*tch to fight. " Adding to my commentary on the topic: We played "Get the Out at 1" all the way through 12U Tournament Ball and came in 4th Place in State. My youngest daughter's 12U team came in 4th or 5th in Nationals last year and brought home several 1st place trophies last year and they play "Get the Out at 1". It works. Be confident in your philosophy. I gave you a list of specific situations where you can try for the lead runner. You might elect to work on 1 or 2 of those specific situations in practice. Let the girls know those will be the ONLY times to go for the lead runner and that everything else goes to 1st. As they master those situations, then you can add 1 or 2 more situations. Master being the key, 50 or 60 doesn't constitute "mastering". Play to WIN!!! Coach Mon, 16 Feb 2009 17:11:49 GMT http://www.mysoftballcoach.com/lead-runner.html Getting the Lead Runner out is always a Hot Topic and Most Coaches get it WRONG. Sat, 14 Feb 2009 17:57:23 GMT http://www.mysoftballcoach.com/fastpitch-softball-blog.html#Pitcher-and-Third-Base Your Pitcher and 3rd Baseman need to wear a Protective Face mask this year. I personally know of FOUR pitchers that took line drives to the face in the past 12 months. Three were wearing a face mask, the fourth got stitches and two broken teeth. This just isn't something to fool around with. I would hope that all of my readers would ask their Leagues to make protective headware mandatory for Pitchers and 3rd Baseman. And DON'T think my daughter is too young or old enough to not need the face mask. I've seen 10 year olds get hit and I've seen 15 year olds get hit. This applies to ALL AGES. Click on the previous blog and watch the video about half way down the page. IT IS SUDDEN and it is SEVERE. I'm HARDCORE about this topic because I've seen it TOO MANY times. Get past your macho stupidity and make the rule on your team that ALL Pitchers and 3rd Basemen WILL WEAR A FACE MASK. Play Smart! Coach Tue, 10 Feb 2009 01:09:00 GMT http://www.mysoftballcoach.com/fundraiser.html With the cost of everything going up, it's vital that your fastpitch softball league have an effective fundraiser to defray the high cost of umpires, equipment and insurance. Fri, 30 Jan 2009 10:24:49 GMT http://www.mysoftballcoach.com/fastpitch-softball-blog.html#Replacement-Spring-for-Louisville-Slugger-Pitching-Machine If you have had a Louisville Slugger Blue Pitching Machine, it might be a good idea to replace the spring before the season starts. Many stores that carry the spring sell it for $19.99. I did some more searching for you and found the spring and a coupon for 20 off. Go to: http://www.mysoftballcoach.com/louisville-slugger-pitching-machine.html Then go to the bottom of the page and click on the banner for Sportsonline. (That should get you the 20 discount). A new window will open for the Sportsonline site. On the left, click on Baseball/ Softball. Then on the top right in their search box, enter Replacement Spring. This should pull it up for you. I think the cost with the discount is $13.59. Good Luck! Coach Thu, 29 Jan 2009 13:39:51 GMT http://www.mysoftballcoach.com/fastpitch-softball-blog.html#UPDATE---A-Great-Sale-on-the-L.S.-Pitching-Machine If you have been thinking about buying a Louisville Slugger Pitching Machine, I just ran across a GREAT DEAL. You might want to print this page for directions or open a new window. First, here is the deal. Normally, these sell for $159.99 and up. I found it for the $159.99 PLUS you get the Portable Protective Pitching Screen for FREE (Normally about $70.00) Plus FREE shipping (Probably about $15 - $25 cost). That's about a $250 value for $159.99. Here is what you have to do. Open a new window and go to http://www.mysoftballcoach.com/louisville-slugger-pitching-machine.html. Then go all the way to the bottom of the page and click on the Sportsonline banner. It should open a new window and take you to their home page. Then, on the left side of their page, click on "Baseball / Softball". then under "For The Coach" click on "Pitching Machines", then click on "Other" then you should see it on your right. It is the "Ultimate Pitching Machine / Net Package". In fact, if you look on that same page you will see they normally sell the pitching machine alone for $189.99. Good Luck! Coach Wed, 28 Jan 2009 16:44:17 GMT http://www.mysoftballcoach.com/softball-sliding-mat.html The softball sliding mat is the perfect tool for teaching girls the proper fundamentals of sliding and overcoming their fears. Tue, 27 Jan 2009 18:26:41 GMT